Selena ¡VIVE!

infobox television
show_name = Selena ¡VIVE!


caption = Selena ¡VIVE! logo
rating = TV-G
format = Interactive live tribute concert
runtime = 190 mnts. (including commercials)
Language = Spanish
creator = Abraham Quintanilla, Jr.
starring = Thalia
Gloria Estefan
Pepe Aguilar
Banda el Recodo
Aleks Syntek
La India
Jay Perez
Paulina Rubio
Alejandra Guzmán
Olga Tañón
Fey
Pablo Montero
Lucero
Ana Gabriel
Montez de Durango
Bobby Pulido
Kumbia Kings
Los Dinos
Pete Astudillo
country = USA
Host(s) = Don Francisco
filmed = Houston,
network = Univision
first_aired = April 7 2005, (repeat) March 31 2006
website = http://www.univision.com/content/channel.jhtml?chid=10383&schid=10819
imdb_id = 0465599

Information

Selena ¡VIVE! was held on April 7, 2005 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. Selena ¡VIVE! was a tribute concert held in honor of the 10th Anniversary of the Tejano Star, Selena's death which occurred on March 31, 1995.Hispanic America joined a sold-out Reliant Stadium of over 50,000 devoted fans as the Univision Television Network broadcast "Selena¡Vive!", its star-studded tribute to the Queen of Tejano music.

Achievements

The telecast also went on to achieve a record breaking 35.9 household rating to become the highest rated and most viewed Spanish-language TV special ever in the history of American Television and was the #1 program regardless of language among adults 18-34 in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco while tying for first place in New York.

Concert synopsis

opening interpretation of the Selena hit, “Amor Prohibido.” Thalía was followed by a cavalcade of many of Latin music’s biggest stars, all performing an amazing collection of Selena’s biggest hits.

Paulina Rubio sang "Fotos y Recuerdos".

The immensely popular group Banda el Recodo gave a rhythmic rendition of “Techno Cumbia.” Then Puerto Rican salsa star India performed “No Debes Jugar.” After a short video recounting Selena's discovery, a cacophony of car horns was heard at the start of the next number as Mexican recording artist Ana Barbara performed “La Carcacha” along with a full complement of dancers. The poignant duet “Buenos Amigos” was then performed by newcomer Mariana Seoane and popular heartthrob Pablo Montero, and Grupero music star Alicia Villarreal wrapped up the segment with “Si Una Vez”.

Following another video recalling Selena’s international success, popular Mexican singer Ana Gabriel dedicated her performance of one of Selena’s favorite classics “Tú, Sólo Tú” to her memory. She then introduced Pepe Aguilar, who likewise dedicated his rendition of “No Me Queda Más.” Then, after a video depicting Selena's origins in Texas, the audience was treated to an electrifying production of “Fotos Y Recuerdos” by the always-exciting pop sensation Paulina Rubio.

The next video segment retold the story of Selena's “second family” and back-up band, Los Dinos, and was narrated by one of its former members, Pete Astudillo. Astudillo then performed the song he wrote after her passing, “Cómo Te Extraño.”After a video covering Selena’s life as a role model for women, Puerto Rico’s Olga Tañón treated viewers to her dance-filled interpretation of the hit “La Llamada.” The next video segment was dedicated to “Love” and was followed by a dramatic entrance of international superstar Gloria Estefan in a special, heartfelt performance of Selena’s English-language hit “I Could Fall In Love.”

In one of the most touching performances of the evening, Selena's brother A. B. Quintanilla and his group, Kumbia Kings, performed a duet with his sister in a specially remixed version of her hit “Baila Esta Cumbia”. Later, Mexico’s eclectic pop-rocker Alejandra Guzmán brought the audience to their feet with her performance of perhaps Selena’s most infectious hit, “Bidi Bidi, Bom Bom”. This was followed by a Tex-Mex medley by two of the popular genre’s biggest stars, Bobby Pulido and Jay Pérez.

The late Colombian singer/songwriter Soraya began singing the crossover hit “Dreaming of You” and was joined onstage by the vocal group Barrio Boyzz, reunited for the first time since disbanding to pay homage to Selena, whom they had the privilege of recording with while she was alive. Mexican singer Graciela Beltrán then treated the crowd to a lively production number of “El Chico del Apto. 512.”

A video of Selena’s legacy was then followed by Aleks Syntek and Fey performing “Dondequiera Que Estés.” Then, today’s hottest “Duranguense” band, Montéz de Durango, broke into a spirited and fireworks-highlighted arrangement of “Ven Conmigo.”

But without a doubt, the evening's most emotional moment came when the entire stadium audience got a chance to participate in the grand finale. A video of the star of the evening, Selena, performing “Como La Flor” played on the giant video screens accompanied by Los Dinos, playing together again for the first time since her passing. Then, as thousands of fans waved white roses, all the performers returned to the stage to sing the chorus along with a 55-member children's choir, closing the show with one of the most moving tributes of all time.

Family comments

Commenting on the evening dedicated to his beloved daughter, family patriarch Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. was quoted as saying, “The evening exceeded our wildest expectations. Selena’s memory is very much alive as witnessed by the outpouring of emotions during tonight's event. My wife and I would like to thank Univision, the marvelous crew, and most of all, her ever devoted fans.”

Trivia

*This show when it premiered on April 7, was the number one most watched show beating "American Idol" for that same week.
*The first and, as of 2007, only Univision Original Show to air worldwide.
*Lucero was original casted to be in the show, but 2 weeks before the show she gave birth. She was replaced by Graciela Beltran, however the song Lucero was set to perform was on the CD.
* The staff of the show wanted Juan Gabriel to appear on the concert, but he was not able to appear because of his busy schedule.

Record (Telefutura)

On Thursday March 31, the anniversary of Selena’s passing, TeleFutura's special primetime tribute to Selena made ratings history for the network. Ranking as the nation's #2 broadcast network among all Hispanic demographics that night, only behind sister network Univision, it also resulted in the largest audience in TeleFutura’s history. TeleFutura delivered 1.2 million more Hispanic viewers on this night than competitor Telemundo.

oundtrack

There has been a CD Selena ¡VIVE! (soundtrack), DVD & CD/DVD set released of the concert. Though it did not include many of the songs performed.